WashPost ace, boss admit “f— up” on WMD coverage

BALTIMORE – Bob Woodward, one of the godfathers of modern investigative reporting, today admitted — before a gathering of the nation’s investigative journalists, no less — that The Washington Post fell short in debunking the Bush administration’s assertion Saddam Hussein held weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

With ex-executive editor Leonard Downie Jr. at his side during a packed showcase panel at the Investigative Reporters & Editors annual convention, Woodward characterized  as a “fuck up” The Post’s failure to aggressively challenge former President Bush’s primary argument for going to war in Iraq in March 2003.

“One of the mistakes we made is that we didn’t talk enough,” Woodward said, with Downie nodding in agreement.

It was obvious the pair wanted to address the issue themselves off the bat to avoid criticism at the hands of their brethren. It worked.

Woodward said he had gotten wind that Mr. Bush’s weapons of mass destruction argument was suspect (no WMDs were ever found by coalition troops or investigators), but he was distracted by other issues in the lead up to the Iraq War and failed to discuss the matter with Downie or other editors of The Post. Of the many “unanswered questions” surrounding the lead up to the coalition invasion six years ago, “Some weren’t asked,” he said.

Again, Downie concurred, telling the panel titled Accountability Reporting and Digging Deep that “Editors must have their antennae up and stay alert,” and ”Reporters must not disengage” in the process of dissecting complicated stories.

“Stay in your editor’s face,” said Downie, now The Post’s vice president at large, adding there are often too many layers between reporters and editors in many newsrooms.

Their plan for full disclosure apparently succeeded. There were no follow-up questions on The Post’s WMD ”fuck up” from the IRE faithful.

And, befitting a true godfather, the faithful had lined up for Woodward’s blessing: his autograph on copies of “All The President’s Men” and his other books – all sold out at display tables.

Americans Can Get Past Tortured History

The citizens of this nation can come to terms with our country’s latest international embarrassment — the apparent Bush administration-sanctioned torture of detainees in the wake of 9/11 — by first owning it, then rejecting it as a matter of policy, as President Obama did in his first days in office.

It is strong medicine. We’ve taken it before. Our history is marked with such dark chapters.

There’s slavery, our original sin, committed almost from our nation’s birth; Japanese Internment Camps, with U.S. citizens held captive on their own soil during World War II; the massacre at Mi Lai in the Vietnam War; the failure to intercede in the genocide in Rwanda.

In each instance, we’ve owned up to our failures. We have not ignored them.

Surely we’ve learned by now that when we embrace the tactics of our enemies, such as torture, we lower ourselves to their level. And when we do, we can no longer claim the moral high ground.

Insisting that torture did not take place in America’s name because the definition of torture may have been conveniently redefined by Bush administration officials falls short of a claim of plausible deniability.

Only by launching a full investigation — before other nations do it for us — can we reclaim some of that high ground.

Each time we’ve acknowledged our infallibility, we as a people have emerged stronger and even more exceptional.

Hail To The Chief!

WASHINGTON, D.C. — My feet are almost frostbitten, my fingers are numb and I’m alternately suffering fever and chills from the flu I’ve battled since last week. I struggle to maintain my focus and listen to the speech.

I look down at the frozen lawn, and realize several pairs of feet are crammed up against mine. I turn and gaze first  behind me, then before me.

An ocean of people, a rainbow of races, generation upon generation, is flowing from the foot of the Washington Monument, down through the National Mall to the steps of the U.S. Capitol and beyond to the Lincoln Memorial.

Then, a moment of radical clarity — Barack Obama is delivering his inaugural address.

As the crush of humanity cheers loud, long and strong, I’m more and more certain it’s not a hallucination, and hear myself saying out loud:

“He’s the freakin’ president!”

Welcome to the Blogosphere

Well, it took long enough. After years of fear and loathing, I’ve finally begun my blog.

And it’s all courtesy of the NABJ Media Institute, Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., and the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center.

Dr. Paul Chenoweth of Belmont, a web development expert, doesn’t realize he’s speeding right through my first lesson on blogging. He doesn’t understand that I am the lowliest of novices, very easily frustrated and in need of remedial instruction.

I’m feeling overwhelmed already because it’s hard for me to “get it” as far as new technology is concerned. Forget that I’ve spent 30 years as a respected journalist, and that in the last 12 months I’ve invested in a sweet text messaging camera phone, a top-shelf 17-inch laptop computer, an iPod Shuffle and a high-quality digital camera — I’m terrified of all of it!

It’s a paralyzing mental block that could be a career killer if I don’t get past it soon and learn some real multimedia skills.

Pray for me.